[ click for a larger view. ]
I don’t think I’ve ever done this: gone almost totally monochromatic. The art geek in me that secretly looked forward to every week of color theory in college adores that I did this. Even my shoes have blue in them! Yes, it’s not a total monochromatic triumph, but I doubt I could ever resist adding a little zing into an outfit with another color (in this case, the touch of red on the shoes).
[ hamming it up. lol. ]
- blouse: thrifted
- skirt: made by me (potting shed skirt)
- belt: inspired by Anthropologie, made by me
- striped wedges: Madden Girl
- bracelet: Forever 21
- sunglasses: Urban Outfitters
I am particularly fond of this shirt at the moment. I found it a couple weeks ago when my sister and I went thrifting, hidden among the usual thrift store junk one has to dig through. I actually nearly missed it, except that the tropical print caught my eye and I had to investigate. It isn’t vintage, although the print is very vintage-esque; but at $2 I wasn’t going to argue. lol. This fulfills my wish of finding a vintage-style, tropical blouse that has been on my wishlist for three years. Back when I worked at a fabric store, I remember distinctly a customer who came in wearing the most amazing tropical print shirt one day. She told me she had saved it after her (then teenage) son had outgrown it back in the 80s. I secretly coveted that for years–I’m just glad I finally found a close approximation!
[ click for a larger view. ]
The belt, I think deserves it’s own paragraph. A couple months ago I spotted a knotted rope belt at Anthropologie. Per usual it was pricey and they were out of my size, but I really liked the idea of a knotted rope belt. Something else nautical to add to my wardrobe! I bought some cotton cord at JoAnns (in the home decor section), and braided my own version. It’s got a bit of “character”. I’m calling this my working mock-up: I think I might redo it eventually (and also add a pronged buckle at the back, with eyelets). Maybe use a bit of faux/recycled leather to make the belt tabs… But it works, and I don’t have a less-chunky white belt in my closet, so this fills a gap.
I’ve been taking quite a few outfit pictures lately, which has resulted in a bit of a backlog of outfits. However, just so I don’t spam you all with continual outfit posts (after all, this blog is about sewing and other things too!), I think I’m going to limit myself to two posts a week. I figure this will give me some leeway on the weeks I’m too busy/lazy to get snapshots too. lol.
June 15, 2010 ·
39 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings,outfits + wardrobe
· tags: outfits
[ nail polish ad from 1945. ]
I was flipping through one of my 1940s magazines when I noticed an ad for “Chen Yu” nail polish. Now I don’t know about you, but when I think about the 1930s through 50s, red is the color I associate with nail polish. I tend to shy away from many of my more outre colors that I have stashed away in my box of polishes when wearing my distinctly 40s outfits because I always thought it seemed a bit out of character for the outfit. So I was utterly delighted that not only did the ad show colors that we don’t normally associate with the 40s, but color samples too! How about bright yellow (“Ming Yellow”), cotton candy pink (“Sea Shell”) and even black (“Black Lustre”)?! Talk about a world of possibilities for some fun… (You could also get matching lipstick for some of the shades too!)
This little fashion revelation came on the heels of going through some old snapshots I had saved over the years of average people going about their daily lives. Just looking at the images, expressions, clothing, and poses made me just all the more aware that even though there was more of a pressure to conform in previous eras, there were (and will always be) the distinctive personalities. While most women may have veered more towards the conventional shades of red for their nail polish, I like to think that some woman out there was a bit theatrical and liked to sport colors on her nails that weren’t the norm. We tend to so often just group people together when looking back at history, and expect they had more of the “conform mentality” than we do in the 21st century. But it’s amazing when you start to peel back the layers and go beyond the history books, how many variations there were (just like today–on a smaller scale though!).
[ two 1940s nail polish ads. sources here and here. ]
After I saw this article, I went and dug up my dark blue nail polish (MAC’s “Blue India”); with a bit more determination to do something a little “vintage unconventional” myself. (On the topic of unusual nail colors from previous eras, you might enjoy this post by The Vintage Baroness.) However, I think black shall be the one color I don’t try. I went through my black nail polish phase a few years ago, and it really is a ghastly color on my nails! lol.
Are you more adventuresome when it comes to nail polish colors? Or do you not bother with it at all?
June 14, 2010 ·
33 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings,vintage inspiration
· tags: beauty, happy things
How is your weekend going? Any special plans? Things have been a bit melancholy around here; my sister flew back home Saturday. I feel so blessed we were able to have such a long visit, some good talks and lots of laughs, but it’s still sad to see her go! Happily, Sailor Husband is very understanding about my little moods after family visits, so he’s been trying to cheer me up!
This week’s links were a lot of fun to pull together; there are some fantastic posts and how-to’s out right now. It seems like everyone has some great ideas and things to say right now–the blog world is just jumpin’!
- Susannah asks the question if we’ve entered a new era of austerity in fashion?
- I love these sweet 1940s “sister” hairstyles–so cute!
- Ez of the Creature Comforts blog has started a fantastic guide for better blogging series–definitely worth a check-out!
- As a follow-up to last week’s article on dry cleaning vintage, Jody shares how to find a cleaner that will clean your vintage treasures.
- Are you lucky enough to own a vintage Dritz bound buttonhole maker? Sarai shared a fantastic tutorial on using it!
- Fashion and good posture: an on going battle between the two!
Have a lovely rest-of-the-weekend!
June 13, 2010 ·
7 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings,links
· tags: weekly inspiration
[ wednesday's thrifting outfit. another view here.]
I’m actually really surprised I’ve never shown this outfit online; it is one of my standbys for summertime. Plus it lends itself really well to thrifting (the cross-slung bag is fantastic for keeping my hands free), which is what I did Wednesday when I wore this. The dress is and oldie but goodie; I made it way back in June 2006, of my own pattern with some cotton voile I got at my favorite DC-area fabric store (GStreet Fabrics). I made it right before I went out to Southern CA that August with my girl friends, so there are a lot of memories tied up in this simply-cut garment. At this point, I think I need to freshen it up with some black dye, but it’s still going strong.
[ click for a larger view. ]
- dress: designed & made by me
- boater: San Diego
- bag: thrifted
- belt: thrift
- shoes: ASOS
- necklace: made by me
- earrings: Anthropologie
- sunglasses Urban Outfitters
[ being terribly bad at the jumping pose--need to work on this!. ]
This outfit post also marks the debut of the boater on the blog! I have worn it at least a dozen times already. Needless to say I adore this hat, and it’s helped to boost my hat-wearing confidence. (A good thing considering I have a few vintage hats languishing in my closet!) Though most of my hats are more appropriate for winter; I’d love to find a little vintage 50s hat in a summer material/color scheme. Something that sits closer to my head, for outfits and days that a bigger hat doesn’t suit. Yet another addition to my already enormous “vintage hunting” list!
[ thanks goes to my sister who graciously agreed to taking all these photos! ]
June 11, 2010 ·
19 lovely thoughts
posted in casey's musings,outfits + wardrobe
· tags: outfits
